Gupta assets set to be seized following court order by the NPA

Squeaky bum time for Guptas and co.

SOUTH AFRICA - 20 January 2011: Billionaire businessman and newspaper publisher Atul Gupta at the New Age offices in Midrand, South Africa on 20 January 2011.

The NPA’s Asset Forfeiture Unit has set its sights on the infamous Gupta family, the City Press reported on Monday.

On the line are assets valued in the region of R1.6 billion as the unit is set to serve summonses on them on Tuesday morning.

This comes after the NPA launched a rather intense pursuit on the Guptas as they applied for three separate orders in the high courts in Pretoria and in Bloemfontein to preserve the Guptas’ assets.

The orders were granted under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, which allows for assets alleged to be acquired through criminal activities to seized pending the outcome of the owner(s) prosecution.

According to the publication the process was meant to be accompanied by arrests of the Gupta brothers as well as key political figures, including minister of mineral resources Mosebenzi Zwane.

City Press also report that Zwane is under the sharp eye of the fox for his dealings with the controversial family, having been a central figure their dodgy acquisition of Optimum Coal mine.

“The assets targeted include money in the banks, and movable and immovable assets worth the amount paid unduly to the Guptas. [It also includes] money in bank accounts both in South Africa and abroad, as well as property,” said a senior prosecutor who spoke to the publication.

According to the City Press the move had been in the pipeline but the NPA baited their time, awaiting the outcome of the ANC Elective Conference 2017 for “a more conducive environment”.

The move is the NPA’s first attempt at prosecuting the Guptas and their associates since the controversial family came into the public consciousness amid allegations of state capture which involved president Jacob Zuma as well as other political figures believed to be his allies.